Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Recipe: Homemade Sugar Free Caramel Sauce

When I was younger I always remember going to restaurants with kids menus that included dessert. It was always the same - ice cream with a topping of your choice. Strawberry, Chocolate or Caramel.

If we had enough room in our tummies for dessert, it was time for decision making. My sister was always a strawberry girl - but me? I could never decide. You see, I couldn't figure out which I liked best - chocolate or caramel (strawberry was a never).

These days, I tend to be more of a chocolate girl - but this Vegan and Sugar Free Caramel Sauce actually swayed me a little. It's really really good. When it's warm it's ooey gooey drizzly heaven - and once it's been in the fridge for a while it hardens up and becomes almost a chewy thick caramel. Truth be known, I've stuck my spoon into that little jar quite a few times and eaten a smidge on it's own ;)

This morning, I gave you a recipe for a Healthy Sugar Free Chocolate Fudge Sauce, so naturally I wanted to make sure the caramel lovers didn't miss out - so I whipped up this delicious caramel sauce just for you (and me... and SIL Mama... and Jesse who just about married me all over again when he tasted it).

It's a Coconut Caramel Sauce that's so buttery and delicious - but it uses no butter and no sugar..... because that's how we do it in SIL Land, baby! You'll be able to fool anyone with this Healthy Caramel Sauce Recipe because it tastes totally decadent whilst being totally guilt free.

You can taste the coconut, but it's not overpowering - but if you're not a coconut fan, FEAR NOT! Because I'm working on another caramel sauce recipe without coconut just for you!

This recipe only makes a small amount of caramel, so feel free to double it or triple it... or quintuple it if you so desire ;)

1 cup canned coconut milk (you can use either reduced fat or full fat - if you're in the US you'll want to use "premium" coconut milk that has as little ingredients as possible - ours just had coconut and water)

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

Place all of your ingredients into a medium to large non-stick saucepan over a medium-high heat.

Once your caramel has thickened, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before serving or storing in a clean container or jar.

The caramel will stay fresh in the fridge for around a week, but it will harden once cooled. To warm your caramel for serving, simply put a couple of spoonfuls of the caramel into a small microwave safe dish and heat for ~10 seconds or heat on the stove.

11 comments:

Hi Anna, Yes, there are natural sugars in maple syrup. Most "sugar free" diets and recipes don't disclude natural sugar sources such as honey, maple syrup and fruit - otherwise there would be very little for them to eat as most foods contain natural sugars! This recipe is completely free of refined sugar

Hi Kristy. Lovely recipe. I recently made some caramel sauce too, but I'd like to give yours a try as well sometime. It just looks so yummy and since there's no end to my liking of caramel, I may as well try every recipe out there ;)

I love the sound of this sauce, but being Diabetic...my dealio isn't IBS or Celiac (in US), I need 'low-residue' foods & coconut is difficult, but I need to go get the C.Milk & try it out. So happy to have found your site ! 😜

This is not “sugar free” and would not be okay for a diabetic. “Refining" refers to heating and condensing a natural sugar which is what you are doing through this cooking process. I am sure it is delicious and probably better for you than a canned caramel sauce, but please be careful. You don’t want to make someone sick.